These cookies take 10 minutes to make. No exaggeration. And you would never know it from how delightful they appear right out of the oven, all crinkly and sugary and brown.

I have about four cookie recipes that always make the Christmas cookie rotation every year, and this is one of them. They are simple but very flavorful, and even days later retain a nice chew without getting crumbly. They are perfect for dunking into morning coffee, which you will need if you also find yourself burning the midnight cookie oil every other weeknight in December. Ah, holiday times.

I am not going to waste time with chit chat, I just need to tell you about this chicken in curry sauce immediately.

Now, I'm not going to claim that this is super authentic curry, or that I have deep skills in this area of cuisine. I don't. But I've had really good curry, and I was eager to recreate it at home recently. I found a couple recipes on Pinterest that used a slow cooker, and though I have a somewhat love-hate relationship with the appliance, I figured a creamy, flavorful, stew-like meal would hold up well.

Hi, friends! It's been a while. It's that time of year. I am making it up to you by sharing a cookie recipe. My husband and I have already begun making Christmas cookies, and I have already begun my annual ritual of eating at least two per day.

This is one of those recipes I make every year, because it holds a special place in my Christmas-loving heart. They are the cookies my Grandma Stark was famous for.

Sometimes you want a fruit pie: squishy and jammy and best eaten when still warm, dollop of whipped cream slowly sliding off the hot pie (more on that below). But sometimes you want something richer, sturdier, chocolatey-er. I was determined to find a great pie in that category this year, maybe a nut pie like pecan, perhaps an all-chocolate French silk number, or something full-on coconut.

What I discovered was a loaded pie that sounds like it should be Way Too Extra, full of (deep breath) coconut and caramel and chocolate and pecans. But it works, and it's exactly what I was looking for. It's also really easy to whip up at the last minute, for Thanksgiving or any time of year.

Recently, I made four pies in the name of crust testing. Shortening + butter or all butter - which is best? I learned I prefer all-butter, but adding some shortening does make the crust easier to roll out and braid. Yes, I said braid. Because the next phase was testing crust decorations, all in the name of producing a stunner that could go on the cover of this week's Tampa Bay Times food section. With all that under my belt, I turned to personal pies, the ones that I wanted to serve this Thanksgiving.

But this post is not actually about pie. It's about what to do with any leftover crust you will inevitably have if you're making your own. Try a tart!

Happy One Week Till Thanksgiving! Also know as How Is It Already the Middle of November, Why Isn't It Colder Florida You Are Lame, Can My Fridge Fit a 16-pound Turkey, etc.

There's a lot going on. I'm trying to nail down my final Thanksgiving menu right now, so I can start prepping. My husband and I are going to my parents' house, but I'm in charge of menu coordination. Everyone pitches in on the sides; hubs does the turkey. I always get overwhelmed, usually about 45 minutes before the turkey needs to come out of the oven. Making lists helps! So here goes.

I feel like a majority of my life is spent trying to convince other people that making bread at home is easy and something everyone must do. Do you think I have a better shot at this, now that it’s the holiday season? Well, let’s give it another try.

Making a loaf of homemade bread now can have a lot of payoff come Thanksgiving Day (9 days!). Take this Three Cheese Bread, which could be cut into cubes and used as the base for stuffing, sliced and used to make sandwiches with the turkey leftovers, or cut into squares and served with some honey butter right on the Thanksgiving table.

Anyone else thinking about their Thanksgiving menu yet? My husband and I are celebrating on a couple of different days this year, and one of those days is next Sunday, so I wanted to get a head start on some Thanksgiving prep today. The challenge: stuffing. Stuffing is one of those things I'm never super excited about initially, because I feel like there are only so many ways to make stuffing taste different, but then I remembered it's just an excuse to spoon a bunch of bread into your mouth! Let's get started.

My hot take: Just about every beverage is better warm, and especially coffee. I opt for hot lattes and just about any other coffee drink over cold ones 90 percent of the time, even when the temperature outside is creeping on 100 degrees.

I love lattes because you can make them much hotter than you can regular coffee. Sure, regular coffee starts out all steamy, but add a dollop of creamer and a packet of sugar, and you’re three stirs away from a lukewarm cup. No, thanks. A latte is espresso mixed with hot milk. But it’s not even the espresso I prefer over regular brewed coffee; it’s the steamed milk. Guys, I even have a small milk steamer at home, so I can make some foamy, steamy milk at a moment’s notice.

I love trying new coffee recipes at home. One of my recent creations is this Sugar Spice Latte ...

Last night, my husband walked into the kitchen from the backyard with an arm full of basil. He plopped it on the kitchen counter, where it sat bright green and super fragrant, taking up almost the entire counter.

We have had this "problem" for years now, ever since we started growing basil in the small backyard of the first place we ever lived together. Basil grows like crazy. If you think you can't grow things (it me), buy a basil plant and water it every once in a while and it will flourish. But then it keeps flourishing. Until you have enough to line your entire kitchen counter.

So I decided that instead of freezing it or putting it in the fridge then forgetting about it till it turns brown, I should figure out a way to smartly use it up.

I'm Michelle Stark, a home cook and food writer living in sunny Florida with my husband and a constant craving for fresh bagels. Whole foods are my jam; figuring out how to make things from scratch my favorite hobby. MORE >

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